The Water and the Wind
by GeorgiaDawg99
Summary: Two best friends in love with each other. A collection of Kataang oneshots for your reading pleasure. Please review and let me know what you think. Also, I'm taking prompt suggestions from readers. :)
1. Hands

**Author's Note: This will be a collection of Kataang One-shots for a collection of prompts. Some will be prompts from previous Kataang Weeks, like this one is, others will be prompts given to me by you readers, which I will be taking and picking some of them out to do. So please, mention prompts in reviews or DM me some. I love hearing feedback from you guys.** **Also, I'm hoping to update both Avatar High and Blood In The Snow very soon.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

Aang groaned as he slowly walked over to the pool of water that lay on the outskirts of the gang's camp. He slowly undressed until he was just wearing his underwear, then sunk down into the cool water, trying to relax his aching muscles. He had closed his eyes, so he didn't see when Katara approached him a few minutes later.

"Aang?"

Aang's eyes snapped open and he jumped in surprise, letting out a small yelp as he lost his footing and tumbled backwards into the water. He came up sputtering, his face warm in embarrassment to see Katara giggling.

"Hey, it's not funny!" Aang said, trying to put on a stern face, but failing miserably as he too began to laugh. The two laughed together for a few minutes, then finally managed to calm down enough to stop. Aang walked back over to the ledge he'd been sitting on in the water, and sat back down, his sore muscles causing him to let out a grunt as he did so. Concern washed over Katara's face.

"Hey, are you okay?" Katara said, "You didn't hurt yourself when you fell, right?"

"No, I'm fine. Just a bit sore from training with Toph earlier," Aang explained.

"Oh." She was quiet for a moment, then spoke again, "Mind if I join you?"

"Go ahead," Aang said giving her a smile. Katara smiled back then stripped herself of her outer clothes so that she just wore her bindings. Aang blushed at the sight of her undressing, and turned his head. Even though she wasn't undressing all the way, and even though he'd seen her in her bindings before, it felt different to watch her undress. Even now, though he'd seen her do it a few times. Plus, her bindings didn't leave much to the imagination. He tried to shake those thoughts out of his head as Katara sunk down in the water beside him. She let out a sigh as the cool water surround her.

"This feels nice," she remarked.

"Mhm," Aang nodded in agreement. As he moved over to give her more room though, his right shoulder cramped. He let in a sharp intake of breath, and clutched at his shoulder in pain. Katara quickly turned her towards him at his sudden movements.

"Aang! Are you okay?" she asked, concern one again etching its way across her feature.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a muscle cramp. It should be fine in a minute," Aang said grimacing.

"Here, let me help." Katara waterbended a orb of water out of the pool and let it gather around her hands before pressing them to Aang's shoulder. Aang tensed up, then relaxed the water began to glow and hum. He felt the pain slowly began to ease up, and sighed.  
"Thanks Katara. That's feels much better. You're amazing, you know that?"

Katara blushed as she let the water fall away from her hands. Still, she lingered though, her fingers absentmindedly tracing circles on Aang's skin.

"I don't know. You are pretty amazing yourself Aang," she said to him.

"Not as much as you. I could never do even half the stuff you do," Aang said. He shivered as her fingertips traced his shoulder blade. Katara didn't even realize that she'd started to massage Aang until he said her name, snapping her out of her stupor.

"Uh, Katara? What are you doing?" Aang asked, blushing.

"Oh, sorry!" Katara said, pulling back her hands quickly.

"Oh! No, I didn't mean you needed to stop!" Aang said, his face growing warmer when Katara's eyebrows raised. Had he sounded too eager? However, his worries were soon put to ease when Katara's hands once again found their way to his shoulders and began to tenderly massage the still stiff muscles. She began at his shoulders and worked her way down, working out every knot and taking away the day's tension and stress. She positioned herself more comfortably so that she could work more freely on Aang's sore muscles, unintentionally intertwining her legs with his. Pink tinged the airbenders face as he looked down at their tangled up legs and he tried to calm his quickening heart rate before he got too excited, or before one area in particular did at least.

" _Breathe Aang. Breathe. Focus on something else. Anything else,"_ Aang thought to himself. However, as she got rid of one rather large knot in particular, Aang couldn't help but let out a small groan of relief and pleasure. He quickly clamped his mouth shut when he realized what he'd done, his whole face going as red as the fabric of Katara's fire nation disguise. Katara's cheeks also turned a nice rosy shade of pink, a feeling she's never experienced before filling her chest and running down her spine, causing her skin to tingle.

"Uh, sorry…" Aang mumbled embarrassedly, blushing profusely and trying to pull away from her. However, Katara grabbed a hold of his arm, keeping him where he was.

"No! Don't leave!" Katara exclaimed, stopping him in his tracks. He turned his head to find her staring at him, her face bright red.

"Ah...I mean, um, you don't have to go. It's okay. There is nothing you have to be sorry for…" Katara murmured, averting her eyes downward. Aang blinked at her, unsure of what to say or do next. What was an embarrassing situation in the beginning seemed to be getting even more awkward and embarrassing with every passing minute. And it did not help that Aang's attempts at calming his body before had failed, so he definitely did not want to turn around while standing. However, if he crouched down in the water to hide it, she would take notice of his strange behavior and would probably ask him about it. Before it could get anymore awkward though, a loud call split the air, causing both Aang and Katara to jump.

"KATARA! WHERE ARE YOU?" Sokka's loud voice came from back in the direction to their campsite.

"Oh. Um, it looks like Sokka is looking for you," Aang remarked dumbly.

"Yeah, it seems that way," Katara said, absent mindedly twirling a piece of her hair.

"Are you gonna go find him?" Aang asked.

"I probably should, shouldn't I?" Katara sighed.

"Yeah. Probably. Otherwise he will just keep complaining until you do come."

"You're right. I'll go find him."

Katara slowly got out of the pool, waterbending herself dry and pulling her clothes back on. She gave Aang a small wave goodbye, then headed back to camp. Aang sighed, sinking back down into the water and trying to calm his rapidly beating heart.

" _Spirits,"_ he thought to himself, groaning, _"Only she could do this to me with a simple touch of her hands."_


	2. Secrets

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

 _ **Secrets**_

" _And when at last you find someone to whom you feel you can pour out your soul, you stop in shock at the words you utter— they are so rusty, so ugly, so meaningless and feeble from being kept in the small cramped dark inside you so long."_

― _**Sylvia Plath**_ _,_ _ **The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath**_

Aang had always been taught not to complain. The monks had drilled that concept into all young airbenders at a young age by taking away many of life's comforts. They had not hot water and were taught instead to warm themselves with their breathing. The beds for airbending students were hard and uncomfortable to teach them discipline. It was only once you were a master that you got an actually decent bed, and even then, it wasn't very comfortable. However, the number one rule was "Do Not Complain." It was not that the monks were mean, they just wanted to teach the young training airbenders to appreciate what they got. Eventually, as they grew older and mastered their elements, they would gain many of the comforts previously withheld from them. However, the manner of not complaining would remain with most, and that was the case for Aang as well. He had learned to store away his problems deep within him. Consequently, the self blame he felt for the airbender genocide had become one of his deepest secrets. It ate away at him day and night, causing him nightmares and guilt. He would not tell anyone though. It would be like complaining. Besides, Aang felt he didn't deserve to complain about the loss when he could have prevented it. So, he kept it all inside. That is, until she came along. His beacon of hope in the darkness, la beautiful angel that held the oceans in her eyes. She broke down the walls he'd put up. Then, that day the mean old fisherman had yelled at Aang for abandoning the world and Katara had defended him and Aang had flew off in shame and guilt for knowing the fisherman was right, he'd told her everything. How the other airbender kids wouldn't let him join in on their games once everyone found out he was the avatar, how the monks had planned to take him away from Monk Gyatso, how he'd ran away, how he'd gotten caught in the storm that led to him getting trapped in that iceberg for a hundred years. He told her how he felt everything was his fault. He told her everything he'd been holding inside since he'd found out about the war and the airbender genocide. And Katara had listened. She'd listened to every word he said, and when he was done talking, she'd comforted him, telling him it was not his fault. She'd helped him look at all the good things that occurred since he'd returned instead of getting trapped in the past. She had taught Aang that complaining was sometimes okay and had taught him that is wasn't healthy to keep everything trapped inside. With Katara, Aang no longer had to keep secrets. He could tell her anything and she'd listen to him and try to help. It was one of the many things he loved about her.

 **Author's Note: Please review and let me know what your thoughts are. Also, remember to give me prompt ideas if you have any.**


	3. Comfort

**Author's Note: I'm pretty proud of this one actually. It takes place after "The Puppetmaster." Please let me know what you think. Also, remember, I'm taking fan prompt requests.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

" _I'm here. I love you. I don't care if you need to stay up crying all night long, I will stay with you. If you need the medication again, go ahead and take it—I will love you through that, as well. If you don't need the medication, I will love you, too. There's nothing you can ever do to lose my love. I will protect you until you die, and after your death I will still protect you. I am_ _stronger than Depression and I am braver than Loneliness and nothing will ever exhaust me."_

― _**Elizabeth Gilbert**_ _,_ _ **Eat, Pray, Love**_

 _ **Comfort**_

Hama. Aang cursed the name of that awful woman. What kind of sick person would force an innocent girl to bloodbend against her will? Katara was devastated by the whole situation, having gone straight to her tent after they all set up camp. She hadn't come out since. It was really horrible, what Hama did to her. Aang shivered, remembered Hama's last chilling words to them: "Congratulations Katara. You're a bloodbender."

Those words had brought tears to Katara's eyes and the beautiful waterbender Aang had fallen in love with had fallen to her knees, unable to hold back her sadness as she cried. Aang had wrapped an arm around her, and Sokka had laid a hand on her other shoulder, both boys trying to provide her comfort. However, once she had cried all her tears, she had pulled away from them. She had separated herself from the others for the rest of the night. While flying on Appa to find a spot to camp, she'd sat in the back of his saddle, avoiding everyone else. When setting up camp, she spoke to no one. And now, she sat alone in her tent, refusing to come out and talk to anyone. It brought pain to Aang's heart to see Katara like this. He looked over at her tent from where he lay sleeplessly on one of Appa's legs. How could he sleep when someone he loved was in so much pain? Aang sat up. What he really wanted to do was go comfort her and try and get her to talk to him. He just didn't know if she would let him. Would she talk to him and accept his comfort? Or would she push him away? Aang once again looked over at Katara's tent. Maybe she was asleep. Still though, Aang's heart, mind, and soul told him to go to her. So, he got up and walked over to her tent.

"Katara?" he murmured softly, so he didn't wake Sokka or Toph.

"Go away Aang," came a quiet reply.

Aang frowned.

"Katara, please. Let me help you."

Katara didn't even give him an answer this time. Aang sighed.

"Katara, I'm going to come in, okay?"

When Katara once again did not answer, Aang pushed open the tent flapped and cautiously entered. Katara sat in the furthest corner of the tent, her back turned to him.

"I told you to go away," she said quietly.

"You don't really want me to leave though, do you?" Aang said walking over and sitting beside her. Katara remained silent for a moment, then shook her head.

"No, I don't, but you'd be safer away from me. You saw what I did Aang," her voice broke, "Aang, I-I'm a monster!" Tears swam in her ocean blue eyes.

"Katara…" Aang murmured, ever so lightly laying a hand on her shoulder.

"No Aang, I am, so don't say that I'm not because I am."

"Katara, stop lying to yourself. You're not a monster and you never could be a monster. It's just...It's simply impossible. It's impossible for you to be a monster," Aang said, moving his hand from her shoulder and gently cupping her cheek so that she turned and looked at him, "You are the kindest person I've ever met. You are caring and put others before yourself. You are brave and thoughtful. You stand up for what you believe is right. I know all this because I see it in you everyday. People think I'm supposed to be the world's savior, but Katara, you're _my_ savior."

Katara could not hold back the tears any longer. One slipped down her cheek, falling through the air and landing on her clenched hands that lay in her lap, then the rest began to quickly follow, pouring out and falling to the ground like rain drops. A choked sob came out of her mouth and she tackled Aang in a hug, who in surprise, lost his balance, falling back a little. He quickly recovered though, wrapping his arms around her tightly and pulling her closer to him. His fingers ran down her back, causing a slight shiver to echo throughout Katara's body. She realized his shirt must be soaked with her tears by now, but when she tried to pull back and apologize, Aang stopped her by pulling her back into the warm embrace of his body. So, Katara held on to him tightly, crying for her sorrow, but also crying some tears of happiness because of Aang's words to her. _"People think I'm supposed to be the world's savior, but Katara, you're my savior."_

Did he really mean it? Aang didn't typically lie, but how could she possibly be his savior? When she finally calmed down enough to talk, she pulled back enough to speak.

"Did you really mean it?" Katara asked timidly.  
"What?"

"What you said about me. Did you really mean it?"

Aang looked at her perplexed and spoke, "Of course I meant it. Why would I ever lie to you?"

Katara just smiled, her eyes still watery and her face a bit red from crying. Aang's breath hitched in his throat. _"She's so beautiful…"_ he thought. Katara tipped her head at him.

"Why are you staring at me?" She asked confused.

"Huh?" Aang said snapping out of his thoughts, a blush quickly covering his face, "Uh, staring? Um, I wasn't staring…"

Katara laughed for the first time that evening and the sound rang happily in Aang's ears like sleigh bells. He couldn't help but allow a goofy smile to cover his face.

"What is it?" Katara asked, one she noticed his grin.

"You're laughing," Aang remarked happily, "And smiling. You haven't done that all night."

"Well, I guess it's because I have you to comfort me and cheer me back up," Katara said, smiling softly at him, "Thank you Aang." The waterbender leaned over a gave Aang a soft kiss on the cheek, causing the avatar's face to go bright red.

"Oh, ah. You're welcome Katara," Aang said, smiling and looking down at the ground between them.


	4. Haunted

**Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender**

 _ **Haunted**_

It haunted him, the death of his people. It haunted him. It was even worse now that they were traveling from air temple to air temple in order to clean them out, which meant coming upon skeleton after skeleton left over from the Fire Nation's mass genocide. The only things keeping him going at this point were Katara and his other friends. Especially Katara. His girlfriend knew exactly what to say at exactly the right time and how to help him feel better. But Aang still felt guilty, and lately, his sleep had been plagued by nightmares of the massacre that took place at these temple over a hundred years ago. This was the case tonight as well. The avatar tossed and turned in bed, sweat collecting on his face and his eyebrows furrowing in what looked like pain.

 _"Why did you leave us to die Aang?"_

 _"This is all your fault."_

 _"You could of stopped this."_

 _"Why did you run away?"_

 _They surrounded him, air nomads from all the temples. They were all covered in burns, some so disfigured that Aang couldn't even recognize if they were male or female. And the stench, the acrid stench of burned and rotting flesh. It overwhelmed him, burning his nostrils and making him cough._

 _"I'm sorry," Aang said to them over and over again, "I'm so sorry."_

 _"You failed us," the voices continued, "You were supposed to save us. But you didn't, and look what happened."_

 _There was a flash of light then Aang was back at the temple. However, this temple had air bison flying all around, and monks cheerfully walking around while airbender children ran all around them. Aang smiled down at the serene scene, for a moment forgetting all about the voices and burnt air nomads, but then there was another flash of light and the scene changed. The sky was orange with the glow of Sozin's Comet and fires raged all around Aang. He watched in horror as Fire Nation soldiers ran after air nomads, both men, women, and children, and ruthlessly murdered them. Aang tried to move, tried to speak, tried to help, but he found he could do nothing but stand there and watch. Another flash of light and Aang was at the bison stables, watching the animals roar with fright. To Aang's horror, a fireball devoured them not even a second later. Another flash and now Aang was inside the temple. He watched as a Fire Nation soldier cornered an air nomad women and instead of killing her right away, grabbed at the fabric of her clothing, ripping it and exposing the women to him. Aang closed his eyes before he could see anything, but he couldn't close off his ears and heard the woman's wretched screams and sobs as the soldier had his way with her. When he opened his eyes again, the woman was dead, her body so burnt that if Aang hadn't known she was human before, he wouldn't be able to tell what she was. Once again there was a flash and then there was Gyatso, fighting off about fifty firebenders at once. Gyatso fended off one after another, but it seemed like every time he managed to get rid of one soldier, another one would take its place. Eventually, they got Gyatso cornered and as they raised the fists to strike, Gyatso looked right into Aang' s eyes and mouthed "Why?" Then he was gone, taken away in a storm of red fire._

 _"Gyatso!" Aang shouted before the air around him began to swirl, tossing around dust and ashes. When it finally settled down, Aang was back where he began, surrounded by victims of the airbender genocide._

 _"You are the cause of all the destruction you saw before you," one said._

 _"It's your fault."_

 _"You brought this upon us."_

 _"Why didn't you save us? Why didn't you save us? Why didn't you save us?"_

Aang woke up with a gasp, his cheeks damp with tears. He drew his knees up to his chest and shuddered, a sob racking his body.

Suddenly, there was a knock on his door, causing Aang to jump.

"Aang? Are you okay? I heard yelling coming from your room," came Katara's voice.

"So I yelled in my sleep," Aang thought to himself. He took a deep breath, trying to compose himself before standing up and walking over to the bedroom door. He opened it to see a very concerned looking Katara.

"Hey Katara," he said quietly, "Come on in."

Katara stepped into his room and Aang shut the door behind her, giving the two some privacy to talk. They both sat down on Aang's bed, Katara turning her head and looking at her boyfriend. Aang looked over at her and saw her studying him.

"What is it?" Aang asked.

"You've been crying," Katara said softly. Aang blinked at her, then sighed.

"How did you know?"

"There are tear trails on your face," Katara said, reaching out and tracing one with her fingers. She then let her hand drop from his face to grasp his hand with her own.

"Was it another nightmare?" she murmured. Aang nodded, looking down at her hand laying in his own and intertwining his fingers with hers.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"It was awful," Aang said, taking in a shuddering breath, "I was surrounded by all these airbenders, but they were all burnt and disfigured. They kept asking why I left them and why I didn't save them. Then-" Aang's voice broke, his tears resurfacing as he recalled the gruesome sights he had seen. He felt Katara wrap her free arm around him, and felt the hand that was holding his give a reassuring squeeze. Aang took a deep breath, trying again.

"Then, they showed me the temple. At first, it was all calm and things were okay. The airbenders were all still alive and bison and lemurs were everywhere. But then, the comet came and so did the firebenders. I...I was forced to watch as the killed and tortured my people. As they did unspeakable things to them. I-I saw Gyatso. He was trying to fight off a huge group of firebenders, but then they overtook him. Right before they killed him, he looked me right in the eyes and mouthed the word 'why'. Then I was taken back to the group of disfigured airbenders. They said it was all my fault. And they kept asking me why I didn't save them..." Aang broke off, unable to contain his sobs anymore. Katara put both arms around him, pulling him close.

"Shhhh," she murmured, "It's okay Aang. It wasn't you fault. They were telling you lies. If you had stayed, you probably would have gotten killed with everyone else. Then where the world be?"

"You really think that?" Aang said shakily, tears still running down his cheeks.

"Yes, I do," Katara said, "I don't believe it's your fault at all. The only people at fault are those awful firebenders that did it." She rubbed his back comfortingly, and pulled him closer to her. After a little while, Aang's sobs began to subside, and he pulled back to wipe at his tear soaked face.

"Sorry for waking you up," he mumbled, "I didn't know I was yelling in my sleep."

"Don't worry about it Aang. I'm happy to be able to help you. You know that."

Aang looked up at her, his stormy grey eyes swimming with emotion.

"Katara..." Aang suddenly leaned in to place a tender kiss on her lips. When he leaned back, he looked at here with eyes full of love.

"Thank you," he murmured before wrapping her up in another hug. Katara smiled softly as she hugged him back tightly.

"You're welcome," she said softly.

However, as she made a move to get up and go back to her own room, she found her hand being grabbed by Aang.

"Wait," Aang said. Katara looked at him quizzically and Aang blushed.

"Um, will you, uh, stay with me tonight?" he asked shyly. Katara too blushed, smiling softly at him.

"Of course I will," she said, walking back to him and crawling back onto the bed. Aang scooted over to make more room for her, and pulled the blanket over both of them. Katara snuggled up close to him, so that he was spooning her, and Aang wrapped his arms around her, holding her in a warm embrace. Katara sighed happily and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being held so closely by her boyfriend as she drifted off to sleep. Aang too reveled in the warmth and security of having Katara there with him. He closed his eyes as the warm embrace of sleep took him. Needless to say, he didn't have anymore nightmares that night.

 **Author's Note: Let me know what you think!** **Also, remember, I'm taking reader's prompt suggestions, so please, let me know if you have one. You tell me through reviews, PM me, or let me know through my Instagram account, atla_fanfics.**


	5. Jealousy

**Author's Note: Sorry for my lack of activity lately. The school year is coming to a close and with that comes end of the year projects and assignments, plus exams. Also, I now have a job, so that takes up a good amount of my time as well. But I try to find time to write when I can. It may just take me a little longer to upload new chapters and such. Hopefully I will have more time to write this summer, because I have big plans for my story, Blood In The Snow. I've made a rough outline of what will happen in the next few chapters, and I must say, I'm pretty excited about it. Now I just need time to write it, which hopefully I'll have in a couple weeks. Anyways, here is another oneshot, this time to the prompt Jealousy. Enjoy, and as always, please review and let me know what you think!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar The Last Airbender.**

"Don't thank me Aang… I don't deserve it."

" _I really don't deserve it…"_ Katara thought to herself as she sat on the bed in the room the Earth King had given to her to use for the night. She hugged her knees to her chest as she thought what Aang had said after they'd left the fan club.

" _Well you certainly seemed to enjoy those girls' attention," Katara said, a slight bite to her voice._

" _Weren't they amazing?" Aang said, his face then softening, "I know it's just just a silly fan club, but for a moment there, it almost felt like… like I was at home again, with my people. Thanks for agreeing to stay there for the night sweetie. It meant the world to me."_

 _Katara's eyes widened, and she clutched the satchel she was holding tighter. Shame crept into her body and she looked down at the ground_

" _Don't thank me Aang… I don't deserve it."_

Katara knew she really shouldn't have been so jealous of those girls. She knew Aang loved her, she did. But, she was only human, and like all other humans, she was not perfect. She too got jealous and needed reassurance.

She remembered what that one girl, Won Yee had said after Aang had introduced Katara as his girlfriend.

" _Oh, it's an honor to meet the first girlfriend of the avatar!"_

That one word had struck fear in Katara. _First._ She had never given any thought to the fact that Aang and her might not last. After all, she'd never had any reason to think that. That is, until now. What if their relationship did not last? After all, Aang was the avatar and could easily have any girl he wanted. Why would he choose Katara? Worry and fear crept deep into Katara's bones as she thought more and more about it. Those girls had planted a seed of doubt deep within her, and there was only one person who could remove that it.

"Katara?" A knock on her door sounded and Katara looked up.

"It's Aang," the person outside her door added unnecessarily, since Katara already knew who it was by the familiar sound of his voice. Katara slowly got up and walked over to the door opening it up and refusing to meet his eyes.

"Hi Aang," she said, looking down at the ground in between the two's feet.

Aang frowned, looking at his girlfriend's sorrowful face with concern.

"Hey," he said gently, "Are you okay?"

"Why should you care?" Katara said more briskly than she meant to say it. She immediately regretted her words when she looked up to see hurt creep over her boyfriend's face.

"I'm sorry Aang… I… I didn't mean to…" she trailed off with a sigh, leaning against the side of the doorframe and burying her face into her hands, "Spirits, I'm such an awful person…"

Immediately, she felt Aang's arms wrap around her, encasing her in the warmth of his body.

"No you're not. Why would you say that Katara? You're an amazing person," he said to her. Katara pulled out of his hug to close the door and give them some privacy to talk. She walked over and sat down on her bed, Aang following her and doing the same. He took both her hands in his own, gently stroking the backs of her palms with his thumbs.

"Katara, tell me what's wrong," he murmured. Katara looked down at their joined hands, noting how much larger his had gotten since they'd first started dating. This past year had been a good one for Aang. He had shot up in height, and his muscular frame was no longer that of a child, but of a healthy, growing teenage boy. It was no surprise that those fangirls had been flitting about him like they did.

"Katara?" Aang repeated, snapping the waterbender out of her thoughts.

"I… I'm sorry," Katara murmured.

"What? What do you have to be sorry for?" Aang asked, confused.

"I was jealous…" Katara said, her voice coming out in a small whisper.

"Oh," Aang said, immediately realizing what must have happened. After all, he knew her better than anyone being her best friend as well as her boyfriend.

"Katara," he began, "You know you don't have to worry about any of those girls right? I love you and only you. You know that, don't you?"

"I do Aang, I do… It's just, well, I can't help feeling this way," Katara explained, "What one of the girls said, about me just being your first girlfriend… I can't help but worry that she was right. What if she was right, Aang? What if this," she said nodding towards their joined hands, "Doesn't last? What if our relationship is nothing more than fleeting? How are we supposed to know that this is all going to last?"

"Hey," Aang said gently, "Hey, look at me."

Katara slowly lifted her face to look at him with anxious eyes. Aang lifted one of his hands away from hers to cup her cheek gently. Katara closed her eyes at the gentle caress, leaning into it.

"Katara, I have loved you since the day we met. I am not just going to leave you for some daft fangirl I met on the streets. You are my best friend, my rock and my beacon. I can't even imagine spending my life with some other girl. You're the only one I want."

"Really?" Katara asked, her blue eyes swimming with emotion.

"Really," Aang said, "Katara, I am utterly, hopelessly in love with you and I wouldn't trade what we have for anything in the world."  
"Aang…"

"I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you, and one day, I am going to ask for your hand in marriage. I promise you this. I want you to be my wife. I want you to be the bearer of my children. I want to spend every day of my life continuing to fall even more and more in love with you."

"Aang," Katara said again.

"Yes Katara?" Aang said, his gray eyes staring intensely into her own.

"Spirits Aang, I love you so much," Katara whispered after holding his gaze for a moment. Then his arms were around her and his lips were pressed against hers. One of his hands tangled itself in her hand, his other one pressing up against the small of her back, tugging her closer to him. Katara's arms snaked around his neck and all jealous thoughts were pushed away as Aang kissed her breathless. They stayed that way, kissing until their lips grew sore and their mouths tired, and when they did finally separate their lips from one another, they stayed that way holding onto each other tightly and gazing at each other with eyes glazed over with love, both flushed and breathing heavily.

"I love you Katara," Aang said, closing his eyes and resting his forehead against hers.

"I love you too Aang," Katara murmured, catching his lips in another tender kiss before dipping her head in the crook of his neck and gently nuzzling him there.

"Thank you," she murmured into his skin.

"For what?" Aang asked, looking at his girlfriend curiously.

"For being you," Katara said, "For loving me like you do."

"I'll always love you Katara. Never let anyone tell you otherwise."

Katara answered by pressing a kiss to Aang's cheek and hugging him even more tightly, a soft smile etching its way across her face.


End file.
